Arbitration Agreement Archives - Page 3 of 15

February 7, 2025February 25, 2025

Federal – Binding Mediation not Arbitration – #893

In RS Marine Ltd. v. M/V Terre Neuvas (Ship), 2024 FC 1825, the Court was tasked with considering whether to stay a proceeding in favour of arbitration in a dispute arising from a joint venture agreement between the plaintiffs—RS Marine Ltd. (“RSM”) and Murphy Marine Ltd. (“MML”)—and the French-based defendant SPM Ocean SAS (“SPM”). The key issue before the Court was whether a dispute resolution clause in the subject agreement required the parties to arbitrate their disputes. Relatedly, the Court had to consider if it had the authority to rule on this point or if it ought to be left to an arbitrator to rule on their own jurisdiction.

February 7, 2025February 10, 2025

Alberta – Court rejects Ontario approach to stays of enforcement – #892

In Inter Pipeline Ltd v Teine Energy Ltd, 2024 ABKB 740 (“Inter Pipeline”), the Court set out the three-part test a party must meet to obtain a stay of enforcement of a domestic arbitration award in Alberta, rejecting as “not principled” the two-part test that applies in Ontario. The Court also addressed the argument that refusing a sealing order in these circumstances would put a chill on challenges to arbitral awards.

January 24, 2025January 24, 2025

Ontario – “Finally Resolved” means “Final and Binding” – #890

In Johnson Bros. Corporation v. Soletanche Bachy Canada Inc., 2024 ONSC 6296, the Court found that the parties had contracted out of the right to appeal on the basis that the arbitration agreement provided that disputes were to be “finally resolved” by arbitration.

January 2, 2025December 16, 2024

Josh’s 2024 Hot Topic – Consensual arbitration appeal mechanisms – #884

This year, in a landmark decision, McLaren Automotive Incorporated c.9727272 Canada Inc, 2024 QCCS 3457, the Québec Superior Court rendered a first-ever ruling that considered the validity of an arbitration appeal mechanism whereby the parties’ arbitration agreement allowed the appeal of an award to a different arbitrator. As reported in Arbitration Matters case note no. 864 (“Parties May Agree Upon an Arbitral Mechanism”), the Court found that such a mechanism does not offend public order principles set out in art. 622(3) of the Québec Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”). Therefore, it found that Québec law does not prevent the parties from agreeing to an appeal mechanism in their arbitration agreement, even though it is not provided for in Québec arbitration law, which is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law.

December 30, 2024December 16, 2024

Julie’s 2024 Hot Topic – Exceptions to Competence-Competence Litigated in Appellate Courts in 2024 – #883

In 2024, for the first time, two appeal courts considered the “brick wall” exception to competence-competence set out in Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller, 2020 SCC 16 (“Uber”).

December 20, 2024December 13, 2024

Alberta – Arbitrator’s Resignation does not terminate arbitration – #882

In Belanger v Pokol, 2024 ABKB 646, the Court dismissed an application by a party to the dispute to “be released from arbitration.” The Applicant argued that the resignation of the arbitrator following allegations of reasonable apprehension of bias effectively terminated the arbitration. The Court found that since the arbitration agreement provided for the appointment of a substitute arbitrator in the event of the arbitrator’s resignation, the arbitration was not terminated, and the parties were bound to continue. He ordered the parties to attempt to agree on a new arbitrator, failing which either party could apply to the Court to have one appointed.

December 16, 2024December 13, 2024

Ontario – Order of competence-competence analysis on stay motion challenged – #880

In Lochan v Binance Holdings Limited, 2024 ONCA 784 (“Binance”), the Court considered the appeal of the Motion Judge’s finding that an arbitration clause in a crypto trading agreement was void because it was contrary to public policy and unconscionable. The arbitration clause was part of a standard form contract between the appellant and crypto users. It provided that the appellant could change any part of the arbitration agreement, including the forum and governing law, and that users agreed to any amendments. On appeal, the appellant argued that the Motion Judge had failed to first consider the competence-competence principle in his analysis. The Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the Motion Judge had followed the approach of the Supreme Court of Canada in Dell Computer Corp. v Union des consommateurs, 2007 SCC 34 (“Dell”) and Uber Technologies Inc. v Heller, 2020 SCC 16 (“Uber”) when he considered the competence-competence principle before he considered if an exception to that principle applied to allow the court to consider if the clause was unenforceable.

December 4, 2024December 3, 2024

Ontario – Court weighs in on standard of review post-Vavilov (and decides) – #879

In Burwell v. Wozniak, 2024 ONSC 1234, the Court grappled with the appropriate standard of review to apply to arbitral awards. The heart of the underlying dispute was whether the appellant Burwell’s promise of shares in his company was sufficient to establish an estoppel against him in favour of his former partner, Wozniak. This case is noteworthy because most cases since Vavilov have not weighed in on the issue and have simply said that, regardless of the standard of review, the appellant does not meet it.

November 8, 2024November 8, 2024

B.C. – Stay motion test and the “brick wall framework” – #874

In Wiederhold v Aspen Technology, Inc., 2024 BCSC 1731, the Court declined to grant a stay application under s. 7 of the Arbitration Act, SBC 2020, c. 2 [Act], on the basis that the arbitration clause was unenforceable for lack of consideration, contrary to public policy, and unconscionable. It applied the “brick wall framework” described in Spark Event Rentals Ltd. v Google LLC, 2024 BCCA 148 at paragraphs 19 ss.

October 11, 2024October 11, 2024

Manitoba – Court denies stay in favour of arbitration for several (suspect) reasons – #868

In Bains and 10031670 Manitoba Ltd. v. Tworek et al, 2024 MBKB 111, the Court dismissed a motion to stay two court proceedings in favour of arbitration. In doing so, the Court ran afoul of some settled principles in Canadian (and international) arbitration law. These include interpreting the scope of the arbitration agreements, the test for a stay of proceedings in favour of arbitration, the separability presumption and concerns over inefficiency and multiplicity of proceedings where the dispute concerns both signatories and non-signatories to the arbitration agreement.